Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Sun, Stone and Stimulus

Yeah, yeah. I'll be posting on "Obama plays". For the next couple years.In the meantime here's MarketBeat:

A number of strategists have put forth the theory that the beginning of a new presidential administration will spark a bit of a market rally, in part because it has happened in the past, and in part because of expectations for a stimulus package focused on infrastructure.

The charts are showing signs of this in sun and stone stocks. Giving a rough outline for his economic stimulus plan in late November, President-elect Barack Obama spoke of infrastructure improvements to bridges and schools, as well as talking up solar panels, wind farms, and fuel-efficient cars.

The details of that plan will likely be of great interest to investors in solar stocks and in stocks like Vulcan Materials and Granite Construction, stocks that have done well in the last two months.

First Solar, a maker of solar panels and builder of solar power plants, is trading around $136, up 59% from its low in November, cutting its losses for the year to less than 50%. First Solar, a stock-market star in late 2007 and early 2008, is set to have another run in early 2009 because of gathering momentum, technicians say....MORE

I posted a comment on cement and CO2. Another angle is the Polar Bear's "threatened" status. Should it be up- (down?) graded to endangered, I'd assume the U.S. cement industry is done for.